The invention is generally directed to a multi-cell carrier construction and in particular to a multi-cell carrier construction designed to carry a plurality of bottles, containers or other solid objects of generally similar size and shape. In addition the invention is directed to a multi-cell carrier constructions which may be quickly and conveniently assembled from a single sheet of laminar material such as corrugated cardboard, corrugated plastic or similar materials.
Liquor stores, grocery stores and other stores which sell bottles of wine, beer and other types of stores which sell loose items of various sorts have the need for open topped multi-celled carriers which allow a customer to circulate throughout the store, selecting merchandise as they move through the aisles and placing selections in a carrier to ease the ability to collect and transport the items prior to purchase. Similarly, the carriers are often designed to implement a policy at the stores where a customer receives a special discount in the event that they purchase more than a minimum number of units of varying types. For example, many liquor and grocery stores provide discounts of 10% or more to customers who purchase six bottles of wine. Wine is traditionally sold in cases of 12 bottles and when a customer purchases a case of a particular type the store staff aids the customer in moving the case. However, there is a growing market for consumers who do not purchase wine by the case and thus purchase only one or several bottles of wine at a time. Rarely do they purchase a case of any single type of wine. Thus, as a promotional element the stores have gone to promotions which induce the customer to purchase six bottles of wine which may be mixed and matched and thus receive a discount regardless of the brands or types of wines included in the selection.
To promote this activity the liquor stores and grocery stores have sought out carriers which may be used by the customers in place of shopping wagons or traditional baskets. The shopping wagons and traditional open baskets with handles are ill suited to wine bottles which can break if they jiggle and fall against each other. Likewise, a customer is generally unable to carry more than two or three bottles of wine without severe discomfort or danger of dropping and breaking a bottle of wine. Accordingly, stores of this sort have sought carrier constructions, generally made from corrugated paper, cardboard or similar sheet like or laminate materials with integral handle that allows a customer to carry two, four, six or eight bottles of wine or spirits in such a way that the bottles will not fall, do not bang against each other and include a handle which allows relatively easy transporting of the bottles around the store and to the cash register. The carrier may then either be returned or reused by the store or may be provided to the customer to aid them in transport in the purchases to their car and home.
Previous attempts at this type of carrier include light cardboard constructions manufactured for carrying six packs of beer. Generally, these constructions are relatively flimsy and are also constructed from a variety of different panels of thin cardboard which are glued together to form the carrier. These carriers, once constructed, are not conveniently shipped or useful for consumer loading or unloading. Often, they are damaged when they are unloaded and tend to acquire their stability from the presence of the full complement of bottles within the carrier. Thus, if only two or three bottles remain in the carrier it becomes unstable and has a tendency to rip or buckle.
Other attempts have been made to manufacture multi-cell carriers with a single sheet of cardboard which is glued together at various points and which is scored and cut in accordance with a pattern to provide a finished three-dimensional multi-cell carrier construction. However, these prior art constructions have utilized substantial amounts of sheet material and are particularly complicated and difficult to assemble in the field.
Two major problems that exist in this area are the ease with which the finished product may be assembled from a generally flattened shipping state to a fully assembled three dimensional carrier configuration and the amount of sheet material utilized to accomplish the result with a generous excess of strength for the construction.
The prior art constructions manufactured from a single sheet of material are generally complex configurations requiring a substantial level of skill to assemble as well as a particularly strong, thick and therefore expensive grade and quantity of sheet material. Because these constructions require such substantial amounts of sheet material and numerous creases, cuts and similar design and manufacturing steps prior to delivery they raise the cost for these products, increase the tare weight and thus reduce the utility and minimize the market for these products.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved multi-cell carrier construction which may be shipped flat, assembled quickly and simply and which retains the required strength characteristics with a reduced amount of material including thinner wall constructions and fewer assembly steps.